Friday, June 22, 2007

Before we get started, there is something you should know about me. I am lazy. In addition, I hate to clean. Anything. I can mildly tolerate doing laundry, but anything that requires scrubbing or a specialized tool of any kind (i.e. vacuum cleaner, toilet brush) I loathe. Clutter bugs me, so I'll organize and neaten. But when it comes to anything that requires the application of elbow grease, well, most of that gets done by SOB.

Imagine my delight when Kaboom sought reviewers from delightful pool over at the Parent Bloggers Network. When I saw the words 'NeverScrub! Toilet Cleaning System' in the email, I positively swooned. As a bonus, they were also throwing in their Shower, Tub and Tile cleaner.

The Shower, Tub and Tile cleaner works like most other cleaners out there. It comes in a fancy purple and green bottle. The cleanser is a thick-ish foam that you spray on surfaces and wait 1-3 minutes before wiping it (and hopefully the muck) away. The consistency of the foam helped it to stick to the shower walls instead of just running down into the tub. After a short soak and a brief scrub, my shower did look much nicer. There were still a few stains from the previous slobs

tenants that I couldn't get out, but the overall appearance was much improved. I hesitate to comment on the 'fresh great scent' that manufacture touts as a selling point because given my current condition (severely knocked-up) any scent is too much for me. But I will say that it didn't smell like chemicals.

Let's move on to the delightfully named NeverScrub! Continuous Toilet Cleaning System, shall we? You might already be aware of the fact that I am a tremendous geek. As soon as I volunteered for this campaign I started devising an experiment in my mind. Just like many homes, we have more than one toilet, so I decided that I would run a comparison study between two of ours. One would get the KaboomNeverScrub! Continuous Toilet Cleaning System and the other would go without. The two toilets in the study get about the same amount of use, but one is nearly brand new while the other is not. Since I though that the newer device would be more resistant to ick simply due to its age, I decided to really test the NeverScrub! Continuous Toilet Cleaning System by installing it in the older toilet. According to the instructions, I scrubbed both toilets very well before installation. Observe...

Before: Control Toilet

Before: Kaboom Toilet

In the 'small complaint' department, I will note that upon installation of my NeverScrub! Continuous Toilet Cleaning System, I accidentally broke a small plastic thing-a-ma-jig and my toilet started leaking a little. This resulted several trips to the Home Depot for SOB. However, he informed me that it was more likely due to the fact that our landlord had the cheapest toilet ever installed in our unit and that it was not the fault of the NeverScrub! Continuous Toilet Cleaning System, or me for that matter. It was a very simple and inexpensive problem to fix if you know anything about toilets beyond how to flush them. Oh and installing the NeverScrub! Continuous Toilet Cleaning System was a piece of cake. On to the data!As per the name, I NeverScrubbed either of these toilets for five weeks. Observe...

After: Control Toilet

After: Kaboom Toilet

The pictures speak for themselves. The toilet that had the NeverScrub! Continuous Toilet Cleaning System looked virtually unchanged from beginning to end, whereas the control toilet looked like something that you'd find in a gas station bathroom. The reason this study only lasted five weeks and didn't continue up until the week of this review, which was the original idea, was because I couldn't stand the sight of the nasty control toilet. Mind you, this was the brand new, recently installed toilet.

Additionally, this system is very affordable. The initial kit costs about $10 and lasts for three months. After that, the refills run about $5 and last three months. I would gladly pay $25 a year to never have to touch a disgusting toilet brush again. That's much cheaper than maid service, for sure! Both items can be found at grocery stores and any other place you can buy cleaning products.

Oh, and for those of you like me who are blessed with a toddler who thinks that putting his hands in the toilet water is the peak of hilarity, the Kaboom folks assure us that, 'with NeverScrub!, the bowl water won’t harm your pets or kids and the cleaning solution won’t harm your tank parts or septic system.' While that doesn't negate the grossness of toddler toilet hand, it does at least ease some fears of fingers burning off due to toxic chemicals.